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"Really?"
"I can't tell you more. Please, believe me. I can't say more."
He might not be able to say more about his present circumstances, but Cami thought that didn't have an effect on his past.
"But you were a peeping Tom. You spied on your neighbor," Cami accused. She hadn't forgotten about that. It was the whole reason that Mario's life had started going wrong.
"There's more to that as well."
Cami stared at him cynically. "Really?"
"Yes. For a while, Tracy and I were . . . were seeing each other. Her husband didn't know. They ended up getting divorced, and we got into a fight because he accused me of spying on her. I wasn't spying on her. I was spying on him, to see when he was leaving!"
Cami hesitated. That sounded oddly plausible. It did fit in with what had happened.
"We fought. I beat him up, and he sued me. He lost two front teeth."
"Seriously?" Cami raised her eyebrows.
Mario nodded, looking ashamed. "I admit, I was in the wrong there, but he was also a horrible man. But the point is that I really respected Tracy. I thought she was a beautiful, special woman. I can't believe someone killed her. It wasn't me. I would never wish her harm."
“What about me? You threw a spanner at me. You clearly wish other women who aren’t Tracy harm.”
“I was in a panic, and my aim is bad. I meant to throw it higher, just to buy me some time to get away. I apologize.”
"So, what are you trying to say?" Cami questioned.
"I'm trying to say that I can't tell you where I was. Too much depends on it. I can't let my friend down. He'd be in danger. And I didn't kill Tracy." He spread his arms in appeal. "You can see what this means. I don't have to spell it out?"
Cami turned away, pacing a few steps from the interview room. Her mind was spinning. Mario had thrown a serious curveball here. He'd come along with a completely alternative story for why he wouldn't say a word and a very different set of facts for what had played out when he was Tracy's neighbor.
This couldn't be confirmed. He would refuse to confirm it, she was sure. Why else would he want her to listen to his story off the record? It would be almost impossible to take this any further in a formal interview.He'd most likely clam up again and refuse to say anything when that recording equipment was running.
He was a man who had apparently been trying to help someone and who had ended up in a nasty situation when he'd tried to take things a step too far.
But what had he really gained by telling Cami this? Perhaps that was something to think about. All he was doing was trying to get Cami to look further and not to dig deeper into his circumstances. He wasn’t asking her to let him go.
So, this admission was not directly benefiting him now. Therefore, it wasn’t as if he was trying to get away scot free. It almost seemed as if he, too, was concerned that this killer was still at large.
Cami frowned. She was trying to work out exactly what to do. She didn't trust him enough to believe him, but if he really was truthful, she had to admit that it would be a very different story. Because it would mean that the killer was still out there.
This killer was running scared. He'd know that he had left DNA evidence behind and that this might give them a stronger lead in catching him.
If he was Mario, then they were home and dry and just had to wait for the results.
But if this killer was someone else, he might do two things. Either he might be trying to flee the state in a rush, or else, he might be looking to kill again, as fast as possible. Or else, both in quick succession.
Even now, he might be staking out another victim, and the thought made Cami's skin crawl.
The problem was that they had no other suspects. Mario was literally the last one that Cami had been able to track down.
Or was he?
Suddenly, she thought of something—a minor detail that had almost gone out of her mind in the rush to capture their latest suspect.
There was something else, something hidden, that she'd almost overlooked. That was what had given her the cold shivers on the way into the police department. Omitting details always did that. She knew from her studies that when she had that feeling, she needed to go back and recheck.
And even though it was the worst possible timing, Cami knew that she had to make sure now.
